Holds On To Defeat Mississippi 21-16 In 26th Annual Contest
MONTGOMERY, AL – Alabama’s All-Stars fought off a furious Mississippi comeback effort in the final quarter to claim a 21-16 victory in the 26th annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Foot Game Saturday at Cramton Bowl.
The last Alabama loss came in December of 2007. This was the second year that Cramton Bowl and the Montgomery Lions Club have served as hosts for the game put on by the Alabama High School Athletic Association and its coaches arm, the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association.
With the victory, Alabama now holds a 19-7 edge in the series that dates back to 1988. The first 24 games were played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile.
After the teams battled to a scoreless first quarter, Alabama took the lead in the second period when McGill-Toolen place-kicker Thomas Hamlin kicked three field goals to tie the Alabama-Mississippi Game record. His first was a 30-yarder just 53 seconds into the quarter, a 35-yarder with 3:58 left and then a 51-yarder with 1:01 remaining before the intermission. The 51-yard kick was the second longest in Alabama-Mississippi All-Star history.
Mississippi moved the ball well but two turnovers, a fumble inside the Alabama 20 and an interception on the Alabama goal line, thwarted two prime scoring opportunities. Jonathan Cook, a defensive back from Spanish Fort, returned the interception 57 yards before Mississippi quarterback Parker Adamson, the only player in close pursuit, pulled him down at the 43-yard line.
Alabama, head coached by Mountain Brook’s Chris Yeager, took command in the third quarter when Cedrix Reed of Foley sped 30 yards for a touchdown at the 8:23 mark while the Alabama defense continued to stymie the Mississippi team coached by Eupora’s Junior Graham.
Early in the fourth period Alabama struck again with 10:54 left to build a 21-0 lead when Joshua Walker of Austin ran 9 yards off tackle for another touchdown.
Mississippi quarterback Parker Adamson of Oxford got his team back into the contest two plays later, however, with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Kameron Myers of Charleston to cap a 65-yard scoring drive.
Five minutes later, Kamyron Melton of Dothan intercepted a Mississippi pass at the Alabama 2-yard line. However, the defensive gem was quickly erased when defensive tackle Dylan Bradley of Noxubee County broke through to tackle Walker in the end zone for a safety.
Following the free kick by Alabama just 14 seconds later, Mississippi struck again when Eupora’s Derrick Jones caught a 41-yard scoring pass from quarterback Wes Windham of Ocean Springs to cut the lead to 21-16.
The Alabama defense held off the visitors the rest of the game to emerge with its seventh win in eight years and 13th in the last 15 years dating back to 1996.
Jason Smith was named the Alabama MVP. The McGill-Toolen quarterback, who turned wide receiver in this game, snared six receptions for 134 yards to tie the Classic record for yards receiving set by Chalos Boner of Greenwood, MS in 1989. He had two spectacular one-handed catches to keep scoring drives alive.
Mississippi’s 6-foot-6, 248-pound defensive end Chris Jones of Houston had eight tackles including a sack and three others for losses to earn MVP honors for his team.
Spain Park’s Nick Mullens and Carver-Montgomery’s Jeremy Johnson combined to pass for 231 yards. Mullens was 8-of-12 passing for 156 yards and Johnson 4-of-10 for 75. Reed was the game’s leading rusher with 57 yards on nine carries and New Hope’s Johnathan Ford added 31 on 14 tries. Clark Quisenberry of Enterprise also had two catches for 30 yards and Nate Andrews of Fairhope one for 34.
Northview’s Marquez White led the Alabama defense with six tackles. Melton finished with four stops, a fumble recovery and interception.
Leading Mississippi was Adamson, who was 12-of-21 passing for 117 yards. Windham was 5-of-9 for 70. Ashton Shumpert of Itawamba had 12 carries for just 14 yards and JaMarcus Rivies of Petal had an 18-yard gain on his only carry of the day. Myers’ five catches for 82 yards and Jones’ four for 55 yards led the Mississippi receiver corps
Alabama finished with 15 first downs, 87 yards rushing and 318 total yards. Mississippi had 16 first downs, 49 yards rushing and 192 passing for a 241 total. The deciding factors were the three turnovers by Mississippi and only one by Alabama. Both teams were penalized at a record pace with Mississippi drawing 15 penalities for 115 yards and Alabama 14 for 127 yards.
GAME-BY-GAME HISTORY
Series record: Alabama 19 wins; Mississippi 7.
Year-by-Year
2012: Alabama 21, Mississippi 16
2011: Alabama 31, Mississippi 12
2010: Alabama 24, Mississippi 17 (2 OT)
2009: Alabama 21, Mississippi 13
2008: Alabama 28, Mississippi 3
2007 (December): Mississippi 26, Alabama 7
2007 (June): Alabama 51, Mississippi 14
2006: Alabama 24, Mississippi 3
2005: Mississippi 21, Alabama 18
2004: Alabama 24, Mississippi 22
2003: Alabama 24, Mississippi 16
2002: Alabama 29, Mississippi 17
2001: Alabama 33, Mississippi 14
2000: Alabama 16, Mississippi 9
1999: Alabama 28, Mississippi 24
1998: Mississippi 9, Alabama 0
1997: Alabama 10, Mississippi 6
1996: Alabama 17, Mississippi 14
1995: Mississippi 37, Alabama 9
1994: Mississippi 24, Alabama 10
1993: Mississippi 17, Alabama
1992: Mississippi 17, Alabama 14
1991: Alabama 15, Mississippi 13
1990: Alabama 21, Mississippi 14 (OT)
1989: Alabama 24, Mississippi 21 (4 OT)
1988: Alabama 24, Mississippi 21 (3 OT)